Norton Announces Reagan Airport to Change Construction Times to Accommodate Residents’ Noise Concerns

Washington, DC – In response to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-DC) letter sent last week highlighting residents' concerns, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has told Norton that construction on the main runway at Reagan National Airport will no longer interfere with the sleep and health of residents. Work will now start after the last flight of the night lands so that flights will no longer need to be diverted to areas near the homes of residents living in Southwest and Southeast Washington. Norton had earlier been in touch with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorities, but because residents continued to complain of terrorizing noise and lights from planes flying directly over their homes in the dead of night, she wrote to the FAA and MWAA on December 15, 2011.

No planes currently land at Reagan between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., as has always been the case, but planes landing between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. have been diverted over residential areas during the construction. In response to Norton's letter, MWAA has amended the construction schedule so that all construction takes place from 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. when no planes land at Reagan.